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Really? Who do you know in Manhattan who drives around town in a Ferrari or Bentley? That would be half my old neighborhood in OC.
Rich people in Manhattan take the subway or bus, for the most part. Really rich people get driven. They aren't tooling around town in flashy performance vehicles.
New Yorkers aren't into cars because driving sucks in the city. But there's plenty of conspicuous consumption there if you know where to look. That said, many people in Manhattan are into stealth wealth. Like, you wouldn't necessarily know that the handbag someone is carrying cost more than a mid-level car unless you yourself can afford to shop on that level. FWIW, wealth in the Bay Area seems to be displayed similarly to New York wealth. You see far more Teslas than Ferarris.
My experiences may provide insight from a different perspective…
I’m a Californian native and very proud of that birthright (most Californians are and will hold tight to its ownership). I was born in SoCal in the late 60’s and in the early 70’s my parents moved the family to the Bay Area (which to this day I still refer to as home).
In 1996 I moved to the DC metro area (Northern VA) as a single adult while in my late 20’s. I had always felt drawn to the East. I moved to VA a couple of years prior to the Tech boom so I witnessed firsthand much of Virginia’s virgin lands that had been resting in solitude for 100’s of years vanish in a blink with a land rush. Home builder cookie cutter homes popped up over night (just as I saw the vast amounts of orchards and farmlands in the Bay Area be consumed for the same purpose in the mid 1970’s and continues to this day).
I moved East for the experience, not knowing if I would return to CA. It is now 2016 and I’m still living in VA. I remain in love with her beauty, history and rich culture. However, my heart longs for many aspects of CA. I’m married now and we have one child, and together my husband and I have been discussing the consequences and options of moving back to CA (he too being a Californian, and having lived in the East including NYC).
The DC metro area is a love / hate relationship. The heavy traffic is now rated above that of Los Angeles. The commute into DC from the VA suburbs 30 miles West of the city is an easy 3.75 hours a day (having done this for nine years using public transportation). The cost to commute whether by car, train, metro or bus is very high. If a home owner has a goal to live inside the Beltway (a circle formed around DC that includes parts of VA and MD) you will be looking between $550K - $2.5m easily. While sales tax is relatively low in VA compared to CA (about 6%), the other costs of living is ever increasing and property taxes have been on the rise for the past decade. Public schools in Northern VA and parts of Maryland typically have a GSR of 8-10 which is very good and considered as some of the best and most progressive in the nation outside of Massachusetts. DC public schools are less desirable and have lower GSR ratings.
The people are for the most part transplants. I’ve have found very few VA natives during the twenty years I have lived here. Many professionals work for the military, the U.S. government, for a government contractor, an association or other nonprofit, or high-tech. Through 2000, VA overall typically voted conservative in national elections, while it often votes liberal in its State elections. The South remains conservative, but does not carry the number of votes as that of the north which is heavily populated liberal. Although VA is considered a southern State, the north does not resemble the Southern lifestyle. People are often very busy, work long days, move in a fast-pace, are professionally competitive, well-educated, and are health conscience. Although VA is family-friendly, you’ll find DC has become a single’s town, with resurgence to its neighborhoods and restaurant scene.
I read in some of the previous posts that the writers felt many or most Californians never leave CA, or don’t seem to know much about other parts of the country. Consider these thoughts (but first know that I am a rare breed of Californian having lived in South America for two years, lived in three States and traveled parts of the world all on my own accord (i.e. not due to my profession). Californians are not in a competition with any other state and just plainly love their State (as do many natives about their birth state). California has so much to offer by way of geography, history, diversity and culture that many people don’t find the need to go elsewhere. And, California is a very large State…the distance it takes to drive from San Francisco to San Diego is about the same if you were driving from Portland, ME to Baltimore, MD (crossing through seven States). I will tell you that when I first moved to VA I lived in Alexandria, VA, a heavy traffic area so I quickly relocated 15 miles West and was shocked that few locals new of my new area even though it was only minutes of Dulles International airport.
So, why would I move back to my native California, even with all of its political, financial and education problems (PS, did I tell you I’m a conservative – rare breed indeed!)? I miss the California Pacific coastline, its incredible beaches and the Pacific Northwest storms that blow into the Bay. San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and La Jolla is a true jewel. It’s no secret it’s one of the premier entrepreneur capitals of the world which draws many personality types and the food / produce scene is unlike any other state. VA is difficult to develop long-lasting relationships, yet I still have contact with those from my youth from CA.
Why would I remain in VA? I have come to love this wonderful state almost like my own. The Mid Atlantic, the East and its townships are beautiful and enchanting. VA is exactly as I had romanticized about her during the days of my youth, and she sits on hallowed ground with her civil war history. She is rich in architecture, education and recently in politics if you watch the national elections. Her seasons are breath-taking (in my opinion DC is the most beautiful city in the world during spring and VA follows closely behind). However, be advised…every person I know who has relocated East from the West eventually suffers from acute seasonal allergies and the humidity in the summer months often forces you in doors.
Whether you live in CA or somewhere in the East, isn’t it wonderful we have a large and beautiful country where we can cross State borders without incident to enjoy all aspects of our nation! Good luck in your decision. It’s a tough one for many who are versed living in other places.
My experiences may provide insight from a different perspective…
I’m a Californian native and very proud of that birthright (most Californians are and will hold tight to its ownership). I was born in SoCal in the late 60’s and in the early 70’s my parents moved the family to the Bay Area (which to this day I still refer to as home).
In 1996 I moved to the DC metro area (Northern VA) as a single adult while in my late 20’s. I had always felt drawn to the East. I moved to VA a couple of years prior to the Tech boom so I witnessed firsthand much of Virginia’s virgin lands that had been resting in solitude for 100’s of years vanish in a blink with a land rush. Home builder cookie cutter homes popped up over night (just as I saw the vast amounts of orchards and farmlands in the Bay Area be consumed for the same purpose in the mid 1970’s and continues to this day).
I moved East for the experience, not knowing if I would return to CA. It is now 2016 and I’m still living in VA. I remain in love with her beauty, history and rich culture. However, my heart longs for many aspects of CA.
The DC metro area is a love / hate relationship. The heavy traffic is now rated above that of Los Angeles. The commute into DC from the VA suburbs 30 miles West of the city is an easy 3.75 hours a day (having done this for nine years using public transportation).
So, why would I move back to my native California, even with all of its political, financial and education problems (PS, did I tell you I’m a conservative – rare breed indeed!)? I miss the California Pacific coastline, its incredible beaches and the Pacific Northwest storms that blow into the Bay. San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and La Jolla is a true jewel. It’s no secret it’s one of the premier entrepreneur capitals of the world which draws many personality types and the food / produce scene is unlike any other state. VA is difficult to develop long-lasting relationships, yet I still have contact with those from my youth from CA.
Why would I remain in VA? I have come to love this wonderful state almost like my own. The Mid Atlantic, the East and its townships are beautiful and enchanting. VA is exactly as I had romanticized about her during the days of my youth, and she sits on hallowed ground with her civil war history. She is rich in architecture, education and recently in politics if you watch the national elections. Her seasons are breath-taking (in my opinion DC is the most beautiful city in the world during spring and VA follows closely behind). However, be advised…every person I know who has relocated East from the West eventually suffers from acute seasonal allergies and the humidity in the summer months often forces you in doors.
Whether you live in CA or somewhere in the East, isn’t it wonderful we have a large and beautiful country where we can cross State borders without incident to enjoy all aspects of our nation! Good luck in your decision. It’s a tough one for many who are versed living in other places.
Excellent post, Tchristie! I love Virginia for the same reason you do, her rich history and culture. And while I have never seen most of California, I know the scenery is outstanding.
As a Long Islander, I can certainly identify with your comments about Virginia and California becoming overdeveloped. And I have noticed the traffic around DC has gotten much much worse then it used to be.
My answer is going to flip-flop a little because I started out in southern California, moved to the Midwest for 40 years, am now back in California but on the far north coast, but we may be moving...again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wander_x
*
Did you ever feel at "home" in California? Yes, but my husband doesn't. We live in a remote area with lots of nature, which we both love, but my hubby says "there is nothing here".
Was it a bittersweet move back east? Not the first time. I was living in LA in the 60's, hated the smog, the congestion, the drug addicts strung out on the sidewalks. Indiana seemed like paradise to me.
Do you miss it or are you happier now? I didn't miss southern CA but where I live now, when we move, I will miss it terribly. We have fresh air but my husband has allergies. We have beautiful nature that we both enjoy. We have the ocean and more, but only a very few jobs, very little shopping, not enough doctors and no specialists at all.
What were your social relationships like in the west vs. east? The same, but then this area is way different than the rest of California.
Do you feel different living on the east coast around people who never left to see the west? I feel different around anyone who has not experienced life in different areas. I don't have much in common with them. My dream would be to live in a motor home and live everywhere.
Do you regret it and wish you stayed in CA? If it were up to me I would stay but my husband is sick in this climate, and most of all I want him to be well.
I moved back to New England because I missed the weather ...yes .. I said that .... I missed the change, the storms, that feeling of always being in motion, changing landscapes ...cycles of the year .
I moved to Los Angeles shortly after finishing university in Spring 2006, lived/worked there for 6 years before returning to southern Wisconsin and now living near Chicago. After a rough start, I greatly enjoyed my time in CA up until my last year out there. By then, I was ready for a new chapter in life in so many ways and needed some new scenery for something better. So, I returned to my native WI/IL region. It was definitely bitter-sweet. I had some amazing, life shaping experiences in CA, made great friends, and had grown accustomed to the laid-back, eclectic Western/SoCal suburban lifestyle. However, I also had outgrown a few of my peers, needed a better job, and most of all I missed family/roots and could not see myself financially sustaining myself in CA very well. I was super relieved to get away from the glamour & glitter aura of SoCal, but I missed friends and the beautiful scenery. Since returning east, my finances are much better, I've advanced in a more challenging gig, got back in touch with family/friends and made a few new friends. I was romanticizing CA a lot for the first year after I left and was actually considering ways that I could return, but that desire has seriously waned. I prefer the northern seasons, particularly the thunderstorms and cloud patterns. Chicago and Milwaukee have a cooler, grittier urban vibe than L.A., commuting is a bit easier, however I definitely dislike the neighborhood-centric, geographically small-minded attitudes of many Chicagoland people. I actually think people in CA suburbs are in a way nicer. I've been back to CA a few times to visit, but at this point I'm actually more interested in visiting other regions/countries. I still really like some aspects of LA, SF and the hinterlands, but it would take quite a lucrative opportunity to get me to move back to California, it seems the state is just getting worse by the day. The Cost of Living alone keeps me from being able to realistically see myself back out there again.
CA is definitely more "blingy" than the East Coast. At the least, this is true when comparing LA and NYC metros. People in Corona del Mar or Malibu are more outwardly showy than people in Greenwich or East Hampton. It's hard to explain, but I think most people who have lived in both places know what I mean.
Clearly you haven't visited southern Connecticut.... wayyy too flashy and wealthy for me.
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